Magnolia man found guilty of murder, sentencing set for Friday

By Jennifer Summer, Staff Writer

Published
11:51 am CDT, Thursday, August 16, 2018

Nelson Segovia-Amaya's trial for murder began Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, with opening statements from both sides. Segovia-Amaya is accused of allegedly shooting and killing his 20-year-stepbrother, Oscar Salazar, in December 2016. less

Nelson Segovia-Amaya's trial for murder began Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, with opening statements from both sides. Segovia-Amaya is accused of allegedly shooting and killing his 20-year-stepbrother, Oscar Salazar, ... more

Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

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Nelson Segovia-Amaya's trial for murder began Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, with opening statements from both sides. Segovia-Amaya is accused of allegedly shooting and killing his 20-year-stepbrother, Oscar Salazar, in December 2016. less

Nelson Segovia-Amaya's trial for murder began Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, with opening statements from both sides. Segovia-Amaya is accused of allegedly shooting and killing his 20-year-stepbrother, Oscar Salazar, ... more

Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

Magnolia man found guilty of murder, sentencing set for Friday

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A jury returned with a guilty verdict late Wednesday afternoon in the trial of Magnolia resident Nelson Segovia-Amaya in the shooting death of his step-brother in December 2016,

After nearly five hours of deliberating, 9th District Court Judge Phil Grant read the jury’s decision aloud. Segovia-Amaya did not seem to react to the verdict or when his handcuffs were placed back over his hands for transport back to the Montgomery County Jail.

He will return to court on Friday morning for the sentencing phase of the trial where several witnesses will speak and share what impact this had on their lives.

Segovia-Amaya, 30, was found guilty for shooting his 20-year-old stepbrother, Oscar Salazar, at their residence in the 29000 block of Aberdeen in the Magnolia area on Dec. 26, 2016. Salazar was shot several times and died in one of the bedrooms of the home.

The murder trial began Monday afternoon with the defense and the state presenting their opening statements where Segovia-Amaya’s defense attorney, Jeremy Finch, stated that this was a case of self-defense.

“We intend to show this is an issue of self-defense,” Finch said during his opening statement on Monday. “We anticipate the evidence will show that Oscar and Segovia-Amaya had a tumultuous relationship.”

After the shooting, Segovia-Amaya fled the scene but was captured almost two hours later when a Texas Department of Public Safety Cpl. Troy Phipps responded to the call to find the possible murder suspect who had fled the scene and was believed to be driving along FM 1488 near Interstate 45.

Phipps stopped the truck and the suspect, driving the vehicle, matched the description of the suspect the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was looking for in regards to the fatal shooting, as he stated in his own words as a witness during the trial on Monday.

Throughout Tuesday, several witnesses took the stand to describe what happened at the scene and the relationship between Segovia-Amaya and Salazar as well as the rest of the family.

On Wednesday, Salazar’s father spent most of the day in the courtroom and was expected to take the stand, but it was not needed because of all the evidence and testimony presented beforehand.

Segovia-Amaya did a brief stint in the Harris County Jail in 2011 for two non-violent charges, court records show.

In March 2010, Segovia-Amaya gave a Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy a fake name and was charged with Class B misdemeanor failure to identify. After bonding out of jail while that charge was pending, he again gave a Tomball Police Department officer a fake name in November 2011 but was this time charged with Class A misdemeanor failure to identify as a fugitive since he had an open warrant for his arrest stemming from the March 2010 incident.

Segovia-Amaya’s sentencing portion of the trial begins again on Friday morning.